At the beginning of June Nyasha and I moved into a very
small one bed roomed cottage closer to our church. It is our dream to buy a home in this area
and we hoped that by moving in now, we would grow some roots and become more a
part of the community.
We had only been married for 8 months and we knew that
living in close quarters would be a challenge, but we decided to go for
it! (Mainly because the cottage is so
adorable and I fell in love with it instantly!)
We knew the weekends and school holidays would be especially cramped
with the very small lounge turned into the kiddo’s “bedroom.”
A week after we moved in, I was LOVING the small space. It was easy to clean, we were living with
less and my soul felt free. Nyasha
wasn’t loving it, yet. Our bedroom is a
loft with steeply slanted ceilings and every morning without fail I hear a
thump as he bangs his head. Then I laugh
and then we both laugh and I am reminded of how much he loves me—so much that
he gave me this time, in this home even when it is not his favorite.
And then I started feeling sick. For a few days I brushed it off as a stomach
bug, something I ate or something I picked up from one of the kids I work
with. But it just wouldn’t quit. I was vomiting several times a day…and I
stopped at the pharmacy and picked up a pregnancy test. It took about 15 seconds for that second pink
line to appear. And about 12 minutes
later for Nyasha to appear at the front door after a morning run. He found me sitting on the front stoop pale
(from the vomit or the fear I am not sure) and panicking. I showed him the test and he said, “What does
this mean?” I responded with, “It means
you are going to be a daddy.” He swooped
me into his arms and cheered, it was magical, special moment.
And then reality set in.
School, I so wanted to learn the material I was learning in this program
that I was right in the middle of. Work,
I had just transitioned out of the organization I had worked with for 8 years
and into a new position with a new funding source. Home, we just moved into the tiniest
house! This was NOT the timing we had
talked about.
We went to the doctor and he confirmed with an ultrasound
that it was early. He gave me some tips
on how to handle the nausea and some medicine and sent us on our way. I kept pushing myself to work and to keep my
normal routine…after all women have babies all the time.
A week later I was in the emergency room hooked up to an IV,
with a referral that said “Hyperemisis Gravadum” to give my obgyn. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink. The smallest sip of water or the thought of
any food would send me running to vomit.
I was exhausted, dehydrated and miserable. I went to the doctor with my papers from the
ER and he calmly checked the baby with an ultrasound and said all looks well
for baby but that momma was headed to the hospital. After a few days in hospital (feeling like a
total failure—because after all women have babies everyday) doc sent me home to
take it easy. Over the next few months I
lost all pretense of dignity. I have
vomited in every bush on our property, I have vomited on every floor in our
home. I have vomited at work and at
church and out the door of the car many times.
When Taps came to visit, I barfed so hard that I peed my pants. Go ahead, laugh—I have to laugh or else I will
cry!
Eventually, as the doctor promised, it eased up a bit. At 20 weeks, I am halfway through this
pregnancy and I still feel nauseous every day.
However I do not vomit every day now and if I do it is once—not 20
times. I can eat ( some things) and
drink water and iced tea! Feeling better has helped us to get more excited
about the baby. Poor Nyasha hasn’t eaten
well in months but he has taken extraordinary care of me and I am so grateful
to him.
We didn’t plan for this timing, but we are so thrilled to
share the second half of this pregnancy with you all. I hope you understand why we didn’t share all
the details of the first half—there were no pictures of emerging bumps and smiling
faces, not because we aren’t thrilled—but because I was so very ill. The people who had to witness this will tell
you—it wasn’t pretty :-)
In my next post I will fill you in on some of the details
you are all so interested in: Is baby Chari a boy or a girl? Will we remain on
the mission field in Zimbabwe? How does Ru feel about being a big sister? I
know you have many questions and I appreciate your emails and messages and I
will give you the scoop next time!
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| There are 4 of us in that canoe :-) There's the baby at 18 weeks! |
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